Popcorn: Top Gun sequel is ready for take off

Joe Griffin

The rumours are true: Top Gun is getting a sequel. Director Tony Scott, who made the original, says that his interest was piqued by a recent conversation with a military expert. In fact, Top Gun 2 might discuss the end of the fighter pilot as we know it.

The rumours are true: Top Gun is getting a sequel. Director Tony Scott, who made the original, says that his interest was piqued by a recent conversation with a military expert. In fact, Top Gun 2 might discuss the end of the fighter pilot as we know it.

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Popcorn: Top Gun sequel is ready for take off

Independent.ie

The rumours are true: Top Gun is getting a sequel. Director Tony Scott, who made the original, says that his interest was piqued by a recent conversation with a military expert. In fact, Top Gun 2 might discuss the end of the fighter pilot as we know it.

"These kids sit in a trailer in Nevada," Scott told Empire, "and if we ever went to war, these guys would actually be flying the drones: the unmanned aircraft. They operate them like they're playing war games." Tom Cruise is not confirmed to return yet, but I think he'll be back: he needs a hit and this could be the perfect comeback film for him.

Mark Wahlberg to grin and bear it

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has finally found a leading man for his directorial debut, Ted. The comedy will focus on a young man whose imaginary friend is a foul-mouthed, hard-partying and malevolent teddy bear. The film will be live-action with an animated bear (voiced by MacFarlane) and Mark Wahlberg will play the human. Family Guy has creatively run its course and MacFarlane has shown a great talent for writing and voice-work. Then there's Wahlberg, who was very funny recently in The Other Guys. So this should be better than the similarly themed Rik Mayall disaster, Drop Dead Fred.

Life of Pi gets a star

After moving in troubled waters for some time, The Life of Pi now has both a director and a young star. The mighty Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) will direct and, after an exhaustive worldwide search, the film will star a teenager by the name of Suraj Sharma. The book told the story of a boy, a hyena, a zebra and a Bengal tiger stuck on a lifeboat. The philosophical tale might prove impossible to film -- directors M Night Shyamalan and Jean-Pierre Jeunet both tried to adapt it, but they quit before filming began.

Jack Black may work with Mad Men creator

After some delays, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner looks like he's finally about to direct his first film. You are Here (also written by Weiner) is a comedy/ drama about a slacker (Jack Black, right, of course), who inherits his father's farm. Matt Dillon is set to star as his womanising best friend and Renée Zellweger may play Black's sister.

Val Kilmer is Twixt now and Sunrise

This could be very interesting. Difficult, but charismatic, Val Kilmer will star in a thriller/horror Twixt now and Sunrise, for Francis Ford Coppola. The director hasn't made a scary movie since Dracula, but there have been elements of horror in Apocalypse Now and Dementia 13. Plot details are sketchy at the moment, but we know that it will star Kilmer as a horror novelist and that it's filming right now in Napa.

Cork Film Festival confirms its opening and closing films

And finally, the Cork Film Festival has lined up two very interesting films to bookend their event: Opening the fest, Mark Romanek's romantic drama Never Let Me Go stars Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan. On closing night, audiences will be treated to Somewhere by Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation).